Discourse is the default pick for most support and product communities because the hosted Free plan covers unlimited members, while Circle is the stronger pick when courses and member charges sit inside the same community. Skool is the cheapest entry point at $9 per month, but Hobby takes 10 percent plus $0.30 on every member charge, so Pro at $99 per month wins once monthly member charges pass about $1,268. Bettermode retired its free plan in January 2026, and Discourse launched a hosted Free plan on 14 July 2026 and discontinued its $20 Starter plan, so older price lists for both products are now wrong.
Pick by job first, then by price. A support community needs searchable answers and moderation. A creator community needs courses, events, and member charges in one place. An alumni network needs a directory, groups, and chapter structure.
On this page
Best customer community software: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discourse | Support and developer forums | $0 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 2 | Circle | Creator and course communities | $89 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 3 | Mighty Networks | Creator networks with courses and events | $79 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 4 | Skool | Gamified groups with courses | $9 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 5 | Bettermode | B2B customer communities on your domain | $149 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 6 | Hivebrite | Alumni and association member networks | $8,000 per year | No | Visit |
| 7 | Higher Logic Vanilla | Enterprise forums with knowledge base | quote only | No | Visit |
| 8 | Zendesk Gather | Support communities inside a help center | $55 per agent/month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
The 8 best best customer community software tools, in detail
Discourse
Best for: Support and developer forums
Discourse is a forum platform built around threaded discussion, search, and member trust levels. The hosted Free plan includes unlimited members, 500,000 monthly page views, 20,000 monthly emails, and 5GB of storage. Pro costs $100 per month and adds a custom domain, API and webhook access, unlimited categories, 20GB of storage, and 5 staff seats.
- Business costs $500 per month and adds events, gamification, automation, single sign-on, 100GB of storage, and 15 staff seats.
- Choose Discourse when answers must stay searchable for years and members should solve repeat questions in the open.
- The 500,000 monthly page-view cap stays the same on Free, Pro, and Business, so reading growth does not force a move until staff seats, storage, or em
Pros
- Unlimited members on every hosted plan
- open source software can be self-hosted
- trust levels and moderation tools suit long-running discussion
Cons
- Free plan caps at 2 staff seats, 10 categories, and 5GB storage
- events, gamification, and single sign-on need Business at $500 per month
Circle
Best for: Creator and course communities
Circle combines discussion spaces, courses, live events, and member charges under one member record. Professional costs $89 per month on annual billing and includes unlimited members, 20 spaces, 200GB of storage, 3 admins, 10 moderators, and live streams for up to 100 attendees. Business costs $199 per month, raises the limits to 30 spaces and 500GB of storage, adds workflows and an admin API, and cuts the transaction fee to 1 percent.
- Circle Plus is custom priced and adds AI agents, custom single sign-on, and a 0.5 percent fee.
- Choose Circle when a creator or coach sells courses and memberships and wants one login, one member list, and one checkout flow.
- The 2 percent fee on Professional matters at scale: on $5,000 of monthly member charges, it adds $100 to the $89 subscription before card processing.
Pros
- Unlimited members on every plan
- courses, events, and member charges in one place
- Professional includes 20 spaces and 200GB storage
Cons
- Professional takes a 2 percent cut of member charges
- workflows, API access, and removal of Circle branding need Business at $199 per month
Mighty Networks
Best for: Creator networks with courses and events
Mighty Networks puts community, courses, events, and member charges in one network, with native iOS and Android apps for members. Launch costs $79 per month on annual billing, or $950 per year, and includes unlimited members and spaces, 3 hosts, 10 moderators, 200GB of storage, and 20 streaming hours per month. Scale costs $179 per month and adds 5 hosts, 15 moderators, 500GB of storage, 30 streaming hours, and API access.
- Growth costs $354 per month and adds 10 hosts, up to 100 moderators, and 1TB of storage.
- Choose Mighty Networks when members should meet in a network with its own app, courses, challenges, and events, rather than in a plain forum.
- The 2 percent transaction fee applies on every plan, falling only to 1 percent on Scale and 0.5 percent on Growth and Mighty Pro.
Pros
- Unlimited members and spaces on Launch
- 200GB storage and 20 streaming hours per month
- native mobile apps for members
Cons
- Launch takes a 2 percent cut of member charges
- API access and integrations need Scale at $179 per month
- a branded app needs Mighty Pro at custom pricing
Skool
Best for: Gamified groups with courses
Skool is a simple community platform with a feed, courses, a calendar for live calls, a member list, and a points leaderboard on one screen. Hobby costs $9 per month and Pro costs $99 per month, and both include unlimited members, courses, videos, and live calls. Hobby takes 10 percent plus $0.30 on every member charge, while Pro takes 2.9 percent plus $0.30 on charges up to $899 and 3.9 percent plus $0.30 on a single charge above $900.
- Pro also adds a custom URL and an affiliate program.
- Annual billing gives two months free, which brings Hobby to $7.50 per month and Pro to $82 per month.
- Choose Skool when daily engagement matters more than deep customization, and when a simple feed plus courses is enough.
- The fee math decides the plan: Hobby costs less until monthly member charges reach about $1,268, and Pro wins above that point.
Pros
- Unlimited members, courses, videos, and live calls on both plans
- flat price per group does not rise with member count
- points and levels keep members active
Cons
- Hobby takes 10 percent plus $0.30 on every member charge
- custom URL and affiliate program need Pro at $99 per month
- each group needs its own subscription
Bettermode
Best for: B2B customer communities on your domain
Bettermode, formerly Tribe, is a hosted customer community platform for B2B software teams, with Q and A, discussions, polls, events, a member directory, and messaging on your own domain. Starter costs $149 per month on annual billing, or $199 month to month, and covers up to 10,000 members and 5 collaborators, with a custom domain and basic analytics. Growth costs $1,500 per month on annual billing, or $1,750 month to month, and covers up to 25,000 members and 10 collaborators, with Ask AI, site-wide search, API and webhook access, and onboarding support.
- Premium is custom priced for up to 100,000 members.
- Choose Bettermode when a software company wants a branded support and feedback community that connects to its CRM and help desk, without hosting anyth
- The cost stays flat at $149 per month up to 10,000 members, because there is no transaction fee.
Pros
- Up to 10,000 members and 5 collaborators on Starter
- no transaction fee on member charges
- branding removed from the first subscription plan
Cons
- Ask AI, API access, and webhooks need Growth at $1,500 per month
- free plan was retired in January 2026, so there is no permanent free tier
Hivebrite
Best for: Alumni and association member networks
Hivebrite is a community platform for alumni networks, associations, universities, and large member organizations, with a directory, events, memberships, mentoring, groups, and sub-communities. The Focus plan starts at $8,000 per year on annual billing and includes unlimited members, a member directory, events, live feed, analytics, AI search, and hands-on onboarding. A branded mobile app costs $2,300 per year as an add-on, and email campaigns and WhatsApp are also sold as add-on channels at $2,300 per year each.
- Custom plans are priced after a discovery call and add API access, single sign-on, and CRM integrations.
- Choose Hivebrite when the community is a structured member network with chapters, committees, or regional groups, rather than a single open forum.
- Unlimited members means the cost does not rise with signups, but Focus includes only 1 admin seat, so a team that needs several admins should ask for
Pros
- Unlimited members on every plan
- member directory, events, news, forums, and live feed from day one
- hands-on onboarding included
Cons
- Branded mobile app costs $2,300 per year as an add-on
- Focus includes only 1 admin seat
- API access and single sign-on need a Custom plan
Higher Logic Vanilla
Best for: Enterprise forums with knowledge base
Higher Logic Vanilla is an enterprise community platform for B2B and B2C companies, associations, and large member organizations. It combines discussion forums, Q and A, a knowledge base, product feedback and ideation, gamification, and analytics in one hosted platform. Pricing is quoted per organization, based on member volume, feature tier, and deployment needs, and contracts are usually annual.
- Third-party listings have shown a starting figure near $24,000 per year, but Higher Logic does not publish a list price, so treat any third-party figu
- Choose Higher Logic Vanilla when the community must tie into member records, support workflows, and a knowledge base at enterprise scale.
- The platform suits associations that manage tens of thousands of members and companies that run support communities as a core channel.
- The trade-off is transparency and speed: you cannot check a price, start a trial, or launch in a day without a sales process.
Pros
- Combines forums, Q and A, knowledge base, and ideation in one platform
- gamification and moderation tools suit large member bases
- integrates with association member data
Cons
- No published price, so budgeting needs a sales call
- no self-serve trial on the pricing page
- setup and migration need planning and vendor help
Zendesk Gather
Best for: Support communities inside a help center
Zendesk Gather is the community forum inside Zendesk Guide, now called Zendesk Knowledge, and it is included in Suite Team plans and above. Suite Team costs $55 per agent per month on annual billing, or $69 month to month, and includes ticketing, messaging, live chat, a help center, and community forums. Suite Professional costs $115 per agent per month on annual billing and adds community moderators, content moderation queues, and AI spam protection.
- Each plan includes 5 automated AI resolutions per agent per month, and further resolutions cost $1.50 each on a committed volume or $2.00 each pay-as-
- Choose Zendesk Gather when support already runs on Zendesk and the community should live where tickets and help articles already sit.
- The per-agent price means the bill rises with support headcount, not with member count, so a five-agent team on Suite Team costs $275 per month on ann
Pros
- Community sits inside the Zendesk help center next to tickets and articles
- Q and A, discussions, and idea exchange included
- agents can join threads when an issue needs help
Cons
- Community features need Suite Team at $55 per agent per month
- community moderators and AI spam protection need Suite Professional at $115 per agent per month
- AI resolutions beyond 5 per agent per month cost $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go
How we chose
We chose products that run a real customer community today, with a discussion area, member profiles, and moderation. We checked prices and plan limits on official vendor pricing pages opened on 2026-11-12, and we wrote quote only where the vendor publishes no price. We did not test any tool hands-on. The unique fact in this guide is that Bettermode retired its free plan in January 2026 while Discourse launched a hosted Free plan on 14 July 2026 and discontinued its $20 Starter plan.
Which pick fits your budget and member limit
| Situation | Pick | Key number |
|---|---|---|
| Free start, unlimited members | Discourse | $0 per month, 2 staff seats, 5GB storage |
| Creator community under $100 per month | Mighty Networks Launch | $79 per month, 2 percent transaction fee |
| Creator community with courses | Circle Professional | $89 per month, 2 percent transaction fee |
| Cheapest test of a group with charges | Skool Hobby | $9 per month, 10 percent plus $0.30 per charge |
| B2B community up to 10,000 members | Bettermode Starter | $149 per month, 5 collaborators |
| Support community inside Zendesk | Zendesk Gather on Suite Team | $55 per agent per month, 5 AI resolutions per agent |
| Alumni or association network | Hivebrite Focus | $8,000 per year, 1 admin seat |
| Enterprise forum, quoted price | Higher Logic Vanilla | quote only, no published price |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best customer community software for most teams?
Discourse is the best default for support and product communities because the hosted Free plan covers unlimited members, 500,000 monthly page views, and 5GB of storage, with Pro at $100 per month when a custom domain and more staff seats are needed. Circle is the better default when courses and member charges must sit in the same place, at $89 per month on annual billing.
How much does customer community software cost?
Entry prices in this guide run from $0 per month on Discourse Free to $8,000 per year on Hivebrite Focus, with Circle at $89, Mighty Networks at $79, Skool at $9, Bettermode at $149, and Zendesk Gather at $55 per agent per month. Add transaction fees where they apply, because Circle and Mighty Networks take 2 percent and Skool Hobby takes 10 percent plus $0.30 per charge.
Which is best for a creator community with courses?
Circle is best for a creator community with courses because Professional at $89 per month includes unlimited members, courses, events, live streams, and member charges in one place, with 20 spaces and 200GB of storage. Mighty Networks at $79 per month is the close second when a native mobile app and live streaming matter more than course depth.
Which is best for a B2B support community?
Bettermode is best for a B2B support community on your own domain, at $149 per month for up to 10,000 members, with Q and A, discussions, polls, and events and no transaction fee. Discourse is the lower-cost alternative when a forum and a knowledge base matter more than CRM links, and Zendesk Gather fits teams that already run Zendesk support.
Is there a free customer community software option?
Yes. Discourse offers a hosted Free plan with unlimited members, 2 staff seats, 10 categories, 5GB of storage, 500,000 monthly page views, and 20,000 monthly emails.
Do I need a separate help desk if I buy community software?
No, not always. Zendesk Gather sits inside a help desk, and Higher Logic Vanilla and Discourse Business include a knowledge base, so a separate help desk is not required. Circle, Mighty Networks, Skool, Bettermode, and Hivebrite focus on community, so teams that need ticketing should pair them with a help desk.
Sources
- https://www.discourse.org/
- https://www.discourse.org/pricing
- https://circle.so/
- https://circle.so/pricing
- https://www.mightynetworks.com/
- https://www.mightynetworks.com/pricing
- https://www.skool.com/
- https://www.skool.com/pricing
- https://bettermode.com/
- https://bettermode.com/pricing
- https://hivebrite.io/
- https://hivebrite.io/pricing/
- https://www.higherlogic.com/
- https://www.zendesk.com/
- https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.